The UK has updated its childhood immunisation schedule. For parents who had already mapped out their child’s vaccination appointments in their heads, the announcement might have come as an unwelcome surprise.

The changes include routine protection against chickenpox through the combined MMRV vaccine, the removal of the Hib/MenC vaccine (which helps protect against two of the causes of meningitis and blood poisoning) from the one-year appointment, and a new vaccination visit at 18 months – bringing forward the MMRV vaccine, and adding a different Hib containing vaccine.

If you’re a parent, you might be wondering why the schedule you’d been expecting has suddenly changed. It’s natural to feel uncertain when something that seemed settled becomes unfamiliar. But changes like these are actually a routine part of how vaccination programmes work – and understanding why they happen can be reassuring rather than worrying.

When vaccination schedules stay the same for years, they fade into the background of family life. You know when appointments are due, your health visitor or GP knows the routine, and immunisation becomes just another part of early childhood – like weaning or starting nursery. It’s only when things change that we really notice the system at all.

Vaccination schedules aren’t meant to stay frozen in time. In the UK, an expert committee........

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